Pages

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

2013 was a busy year for me, though not for blogging. I finished library school in May and I've been working part time at the library trying to get my foot in the door, in addition to working my full time job at the University. I've also been working on my house in my spare time until I finally got smart and hired contractors to finish the work (this was my Christmas present to myself).

Unfortunately I only managed to get 20 posts written this year here on my blog. However, I do believe that sometimes quality is better than quantity and I think this has shown to be true this year.

Another popular post was It Must Be in the Genes. This post was written in response to a DNA match I had which may have derived from a common WATSON ancestor. In a bit of genealogy serendipity, while I was researching my WATSON ancestors, I came across the will of Joseph JEANS who was the father of Nancy JEANS who married into my WATSON family. I included an image of the will, my transcription and the source citation; as well as the list of information I learned from the will and what my future research might entail.

My blogging year wouldn't be complete without a post about the North Carolina State Archives. This post about Identifying Land Grants using the NC State Archives' online MARS Catalog was especially memorable to me because it earned my blog a mention by the staff of the Archives in their blog History for All the People. It is an extensive "how to" for locating land records using the online catalog. The land records differ from deeds because they are usually the beginning of the paper trail for tracts of land. Land grants were issues by the State to the buyer up until a certain time after which land changed hands via deeds.

I hope you have enjoyed following my quality posts this year. What were your favorite posts?

According to his headstone, Joseph Hill would have been born about 1771. He was my 5th great-grandfather. He was married to Ruth Fowler, daughter of Richard and Ruth Fowler. Ruth is also buried in this cemetery.

His son Elijah Hill [2] married Rachel Watson, daughter of Nancy Jeans and John Watson.

Their son Joseph Watson Hill married Josephine F Cox [3], daughter of Robert Cox and Basheba McCoy [4].

Their son Nathaniel "Gus" Hill [5] married Jessie Inez Barton, daughter of James Silas Barton and Sarah Alice Tinsley.

Their daughter Blanche Kathryne Hill was my great-grandmother. She married John Brooks Binns, son of John Milton Binns and Perthinia Eula Brooks. I was fortunate to have grown up with most of my great-grandparents.

Their daughter Barbara Binns is my grandmother. She has taken the Family Finder autosomal DNA test.

About Me

Contact Me: Ginger R. SmithI am an avid genealogist and librarian living in Durham, NC. I do extensive research at the North Carolina State Archives for my Brooks and Godwin families. If you would like assistance locating records at the Archives, please feel free to email me. This blog highlights my research and DNA testing updates. Please check out my Surname Page to see if we have any relatives in common!